Disaster Relief

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency is offering temporary housing support to those affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Individuals whose principal residence was located in an area eligible for assistance may reside in Housing Tax Credit (HTC) properties in Ohio, despite income requirements.

Under Internal Revenue Procedure 2014-49, the IRS provides housing tax credit owners temporary relief from income requirements for individuals displaced by a major disaster. Units leased as emergency housing are subject to the program rent limits. The Internal Revenue Procedure 2014-49 allows units to be used on a transient basis and relieves the owner and household from providing evidence of income eligibility.

Owners and managers of HTC properties who wish to provide temporary emergency housing to displaced residents must have written approval from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA).

Unless your written policies and procedures provide a preference for households displaced by presidentially declared disasters, you may not skip over households on your waiting list to provide emergency housing. Likewise, you may not displace existing households in order to provide emergency housing.

Please see the sections below for specific information.

Housing for Displaced Residents of Hurricane Maria

On September 20, 2017, President Trump declared Hurricane Maria a major disaster. As of October 11, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated all 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico as major disaster areas: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4339. FEMA also designated all three islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands as a major disaster area: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4340.

Units leased as emergency housing are subject to the program rent limits. The Internal Revenue Procedure 2014-49 allows units to be used on a transient basis and relieves the owner and household from providing evidence of income eligibility. The emergency relief period ends September 20, 2018. After this date, displaced households that cannot document eligibility for the HTC program cannot occupy program units.

Housing for Displaced Residents of Hurricane Irma

On September 7, 2017, President Trump declared Hurricane Irma a major disaster for the US Virgin Islands. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated St. John and St. Thomas islands as major disaster areas: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4335. The emergency relief period ends September 7, 2018.

On September 10, 2017, President Trump made additional declarations for Hurricane Irma a major disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated 48 Florida counties and 5 municipalities of Puerto Rico as major disaster areas. The emergency relief period ends September 10, 2018.

On September 15, 2017, President Trump made additional declarations for Hurricane Irma a major disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated 7 Georgia counties: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4338. The emergency relief period ends September 15, 2018.

On September 27, 2017, President Trump added the Seminole Tribe of Florida as a major disaster area: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4341. The emergency relief period ends September 27, 2018.

After the one year period for relief, displaced households that cannot document eligibility for the HTC program cannot occupy program units.

Housing for Displaced Residents of Hurricane Harvey

On August 25, 2017, President Trump declared Hurricane Harvey a major disaster. As of September 6, 2017, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated 39 Texas counties as major disaster areas. Review the list of eligible counties here: https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4332.

Units leased as emergency housing are subject to the program rent limits. The Internal Revenue Procedure 2014-49 allows units to be used on a transient basis and relieves the owner and household from providing evidence of income eligibility. The emergency relief period ends August 25, 2018. After this date, displaced households that cannot document eligibility for the HTC program cannot occupy program units.

Please review Revenue Procedure 2014-49 carefully and in its entirety to avoid noncompliance. OHFA may consider other Major Disaster Declarations on a case-by-case basis. If you have any questions, please contact Betsy Krieger.